Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Zimmerman Verdict

Given the controversial verdicts in Florida courts in recent years, one has to ask if it is possible to get a just verdict in Florida, or if that state has written their laws to unfairly favor some defendants, while being harsher and more quick to convict others.  Florida has a disproportionate number of black people who are incarcerated, which is true of most states, but more egregiously so in southern states like Florida.

In Florida the problem of justice for the poor is so extreme that the state Supreme Court had to make a special ruling to allow public defenders to reject cases due to their extreme work loads, because it clearly had become SO bad that there could no longer be a claim to even the illusion of justice.

What groups of people get the short end of the stick in our justice system? Not affluent white people.

We consistently underfund, in the name of smaller government, our court system.  This is one of the proper roles of government.  There is no justice when we try to do that 'on the cheap'.  There is no justice when vigilantes take over the role of judge, jury, and executioner.

The way that the Shoot First laws work, the 'kill at will' laws, favors vigilante justice, and favors white people shooting people of color. This is not accidental; it was intended to work that way.  States with shoot first laws have significant increases in homicide statistics, with none of the promised decreases from these laws in other crimes.

Race and racism was at the center of this tragedy.  The race baiting and racism expressed on the right at the verdict underlines that, unmistakably.

The statement below from the Southern Poverty Law Center says it very succinctly:
 
 
The following statement was issued by Richard Cohen, President and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, following the verdict in State of Florida v. George Zimmerman:

"'They always get away.' These were the words George Zimmerman uttered as he followed and later shot Trayvon Martin -- words that reflected his belief that Trayvon was one of "them," the kind of person about to get away with something.  How ironic these words sound now in light of the jury verdict acquitting Zimmerman.

Trayvon is dead, and Zimmerman is free.

Can we respect the jury verdict and still conclude that Zimmerman got away with killing Trayvon?  I think so, even if we buy Zimmerman's story that Trayvon attacked him at some point.  After all, who was responsible for initiating the tragic chain of events?  Who was following whom?  Who was carrying a gun?  Who ignored the police urging that he stay in his car?  Who thought that the other was one of 'them,' someone about to get a away with something?

The jury has spoken, and we can respect its conclusion that the state did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.  But we cannot fail to speak out about the tragedy that occurred in Sanford, Florida, on the night of February 26, 2012.

Was race at the heart of it?  

Ask yourself this question:  If Zimmerman had seen a white youth walking in the rain that evening, would he have seen him as one of 'them,' someone about to get away with something?  
We'll never really know.  

Racial bias reverberates in our society like the primordial Big Bang.  Some years ago, Rev. Jesse Jackson made the point in a dramatic way when he acknowledged that he feels a sense of relief when the footsteps he hears behind him in the dead of night turn out to belong to white feet.  Social scientists who study our hidden biases make the same point in a more sober way with statistics that demonstrate that we are more likely to associate black people with negative words and imagery than we are white people. It's an association that devalues the humanity of black people -- particularly black youth like Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmerman probably saw race the night of February 26, 2012, like too many others would have. Had he not, Trayvon probably would be alive today.

The jury has spoken.  Now, we must speak out against the systemic racism that still infects our society and distorts our perception of the world.  And we must do something about it."

3 comments:

  1. Zimmerman is not only gonna get away with murder, he will be made rich by teh gunzloonz and the various media and others who pander to them.

    I stay away from Mikeb's these days as it's nothing but an echo chamber for the likes of Greg Camp with their unsourced and unsourceable bullshit arguments about why their RIGHT trumps the rest of the world's wants, needs and, well, rights. I'll bet their having a field day over there--and I wonder how many "stupidents" wit teh gunz they'll have this weekend while they're celebrating.

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  2. Seriously, an unarmed person goes to the store and buys something. He is then accosted on the street by an armed person who kills him. Then, the person who kills him claims self-defence.

    Isn't that obviously a ridiculous proposition?

    One cannot exceed the reasonable amount of force necessary to stop the threat without becoming the aggressor. That is how self-defence is supposed to work under the rule of law.

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  3. Read Charlie Pierce's take on it, here:

    http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/

    He has prolly hurted some gunzloonz fee-fees, I would like to think that knowing such a thing would give him a warm feeling.

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